LONDON (REUTERS) - History is on the side of leaders Liverpool as they chase a first English league title since 1990 but their four-point lead over Manchester City after 21 games is the smallest margin between the top two in over a century.
The last 11 teams with the equivalent of 52 or more points at the same stage since 1905-06 went on to lift the title, but the strength of this year's top four means Liverpool on 54 points face an especially daunting task.
Sports data company Gracenote have recalculated seasons before the English top flight moved from two to three points for a win in 1981 and say the data reveals that the current top four is the most dominant ever.
Liverpool, City, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea are separated by 10 points, and are on course to break the record cumulative tally of 333 points set by the top four in each of the last two seasons.
Of the 11 teams that won the league after leading at this stage since 1905-06, when 20 teams competed for the first time, many had sizeable leads unlike Liverpool's slender advantage this time round.
City, for instance, held a 14-point advantage over Chelsea at the same stage last year and are the first top-flight team to reach the 50-point mark after 21 games and not lead the table.
While wealthy teams at the top of the pile have improved, the evidence suggests those at the other end of the table have got comparatively worse.
Basement side Huddersfield Town's 10 points after 21 games is the lowest by any Premier League team since Derby County managed seven points 11 seasons ago, while Fulham's tally of 14 points is the lowest for a team in 19th place for six years.
Fulham are one of only four teams in the Premier League era to record 14 points or less at this stage and not be bottom of the league. The others Watford (1999-2000), Southampton (2004-2005) and Reading (2012-2013) were all relegated.
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JLC Advisors senior partner Vincent Lim said the firm is investigating if its managing partner Jeffrey Ong Su Aun made the payouts from the account on his own initiative or on the instructions or request of others.
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From this it is clear to see that while the Madrid man is keeping pace with the number of goals he would have been expected to score, Salah is putting away far more difficult opportunities and
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Manchester United legends thrash Bayern in 1999 charity rematch. 4 days ago. LONDON: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer tormented Bayern Munich once again as the Manchester United manager scored in his club's 1999 treble winners' reunion on Sunday. Twenty years after Solskjaer scored the last-gasp winner that helped Alex Ferguson's
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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 05, 2019, with the headline 'Sarri slammed over Kepa but says issue settled'. Print Edition | Subscribe Topics:
Sarri slammed over Kepa but says issue settled | Sports-Life-News
sports-life-news.com/soccer/sarri-slammed-over-kepa-but-says-issue-settled/
LONDON • Former Liverpool manager-turned-pundit Graeme Souness has blasted Maurizio Sarri's decision to recall Kepa Arrizabalaga but, as far as the Chelsea manager is concerned, the Spaniard has "paid the price" for his insubordination.
Axed Kepa's still my number one, says Sarri - Breitbart
Football great Pele has been released from the hospital in Paris and will return to Brazil in the "coming hours," Brazilian media reported Monday, citing his spokesman. The 78-year-old's discharge came after Neymar paid him a visit in hospital in the suburbs of the French capital.
May 02, 2019 · The series shifts to Portland for Game 3 Friday night, and Lillard's hoping a return to the Moda Center will help him find his long-range rhythm after he misfired on 14 of 19 3-pointers in Denver.
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Football: Jimenez, Jota slay Man United as Wolves reach FA Cup semis WOLVERHAMPTON, England (REUTERS) - Wolverhampton Wanderers reached the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1998 by beating last year's runners-up Manchester United 2-1 with a clinical second-half display in an intense atmosphere at their Molineux stadium on Saturday
Jimenez, Jota slay United as Wolves reach FA Cup semis
"Neymar Jr will travel to Aspetar (sports clinic) in Qatar for the next 3 days as scheduled in the initial recovery plan," the club wrote on its Twitter account. "He will undertake a complete assessment after six weeks of his injury. He will be accompanied by a medical team from PSG."
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Jermain Defoe insists his goalscoring ability is a gift from God after signing an 18-month loan deal with Rangers.. The Bournemouth striker will join up with his new Light Blue team-mates on the
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